2018 Arizona General Election Report November 21, 2018 A Word from Alexis Glascock The 2018 Midterm Election saw record turnout among Arizonan voters. Roughly twice the number of ballots were cast compared to the 2014 Midterm Election. This surge in turnout ultimately caused Election Night to become Election Month in Arizona as hundreds of thousands of early ballots and provisional ballots were tallied. Now, two weeks later, the results are finally official. Tracking election results is both exciting and necessary, but keep in mind that it is just the first step in the legislative process. This report is intended to continue the political and policy dialogue with you, our client, as we count down the days until the next legislative session begins on January 14th, 2019. We have highlighted races and results of special interest in the first several pages, with a full recap of results in federal, constitutional, and legislative offices, and ballot measures at the end. Alexis Alexis Glascock is an Of Counsel attorney in Fennemore Craig's Government Affairs Practice Group. She has served as counsel to the President of the Arizona Senate and Assistant to the General Counsel of the Legislative Council, and lobbies on behalf of clients before the Arizona Legislature. PH 602.916.5488 EMAIL [email protected] Table of Contents Federal Delegation 3 Statewide Offices 4 Arizona Legislature 5 Legislative Leadership 6 Full 2018 Election Results 7 Contact Information 20 Federal Delegation 2018 is a major year for federal elections in Arizona. The departure of Republican Senator Jeff Flake (R) set in motion a series of high-profile races to fill in gaps in the federal delegation. United States Senate The most contentious race in Arizona this cycle was in the open United States Senate seat. Democrats flipped the seat with the election of Representative Kyrsten Sinema (D). Sinema beat fellow Representative Martha McSally (R) in the race. The two candidates traded leads in the days following the election, but McSally conceded the election to Sinema on Monday, November 12th with votes remaining to be counted. Winner: Sinema House of Representatives The candidacies of both Representative McSally and Representative Sinema for U.S. Senate left two openings in the House ready for the taking. McSally’s former Congressional District 2 was picked up by former Representative Ann Kirkpatrick (D), who beat Tuscon-area businesswoman Lea Marquez-Peterson. The race garnered national attention as the district is perennially competitive, switching consistently back and forth between the two parties over the past several election cycles. Winner: Kirkpatrick The Congressional District 9 seat vacated by Sinema remained in Democratic control with the election of former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton (D). Stanton defeated Steve Ferrara (R) by a robust margin. Winner: Stanton In Congressional District 8, Republican Debbie Lesko (R) easily defeated opponent Hiral Tipirneni (D) for the second time in seven months following the Special Election for the seat in March. The results bring closure to the district, which was thrown into political chaos by the resignation of Trent Franks in December 2017 following an allegation of sexual misconduct. Winner: Lesko 3 Statewide Offices The stakes were also high for Republicans in statewide offices this year. The results of the election are a mixed bag for the party, which retained control of the governor's office, but lost in the races for Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Governor’s Race: Ducey to Return Arizona’s popular Republican Governor Doug Ducey (R) won his bid for re- election handily and will serve a second term in the office. Democratic challenger David Garcia (D) captured roughly 40% of the vote, falling 20 points behind the incumbent. Ducey’s victory in the race comes as little surprise. Winner: Ducey Secretary of State Within the first several days following the election, the Associated Press declared political newcomer Steve Gaynor (R) the winner of a contentious race against Katie Hobbs (D) to replace current Secretary of State Michele Reagan (R); however, Hobbs rebounded, taking a late lead over Gaynor which held through the remainder of the vote count. Arizona’s Secretary of State is a highly coveted job with important political implications. The Secretary of State is first in line to succeed the governor if he were to leave office early, which has taken place four times since the 1970s. Winner: Hobbs Superintendent of Public Instruction The race for Superintendent of Public Instruction also saw vote leads exchanged between the Democratic and Republican candidates. Democratic newcomer Kathy Hoffman (D) ran against former California congressman Frank Riggs (R). Hoffman ultimately edged out Riggs with a slim margin. Winner: Hoffman State Treasurer Outgoing Majority Leader of the State Senate Kimberly Yee (R) won by a significant margin against Democrat Mark Manoil (D). Winner: Yee Corporation Commission The two open seats on Arizona's Corporation Commission had initially been too close to call. Now that the votes are all in, Democrat Sandra Kennedy (D) and Republican Justin Olson (R) have been declared the winners over Rodney Glassman (R) and Kiana Sears (D). Winners: Kennedy and Olson 4 Arizona Legislature The entire state legislature was on the ballot in the 2018 Midterm Elections. Despite losing seats on Election Night, Republicans retained their majorities in both houses going in to the 2019 Legislative Session. Republicans in the House will be operating with a razor-thin majority of 31-29. This is significant because Republicans won't be able to afford to lose any votes if they hope to pass legislation on their agenda. Going in to Election Night, some races were more closely-watched than others. In Senate District 28, incumbent Kate Brophy McGee (R) won against Democratic challenger Christine Marsh (D) by a thin margin. Winner: Brophy McGee Senate District 6 was initially too STATE SENATE close to call, but incumbent Sylvia Allen (R) subsequently DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN beat opponent Wade Carlisle (D). Winner: Allen Democrats picked up a seat in House District 28, which has typically been a Republican or split district. Democrats Kelli Butler (D) and Aaron Lieberman (D) edged out incumbent Republican Maria Syms (R). STATE HOUSE Winners: Butler and Lieberman DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN Democrats also gained in House District 17 after the departure of Speaker J.D. Mesnard (R) for the State Senate. Jennifer Pawlik (D) captured 34.19% of the vote followed by Jeff Weninger (R) at 34.02%. Winners: Weninger and Pawlik 5 Legislative Leadership The two chambers chose their new leaders on November 7th. Karen Fann (R) will become the second woman to serve as President of the State Senate and longtime lawmaker Rusty Bowers (R) will serve as the Speaker of the State House of Representatives. Arizona State Senate Arizona State House President Speaker Karen Fann (R) Rusty Bowers (R) District 1 District 25 Majority Leader Majority Leader Rick Gray (R) Warren Petersen (R) District 21 District 12 Majority Whip Majority Whip Sony Borrelli (R) Becky Nutt (R) District 5 District 14 Minority Leader Minority Leader Lupe Contreras (D) Charlene Fernandez (D) District 19 District 4 Minority Co-Whip Minority Assistant Leader Lisa Otondo (D) Randall Friese (D) District 4 District 9 Minority Co-Whip Minority Co-Whip Jamescita Peshlakai (D) Reginald Bolding (D) District 7 District 27 Minority Co-Whip Athena Salman (D) District 26 6 Full 2018 Election Results 7 Federal Races United States Senate Candidate Party Votes Kyrsten Sinema DEMOCRAT 1,191,099 Martha McSally REPUBLICAN 1,135,200 House of Representatives Seat Leader 1 O'Halleran DEM Rogers REP 2 KirkpatrickDEM Marquez Peterson REP 3 Grijalva DEM Pierson REP 4 Gosar REP Brill DEM 5 Biggs REP Greene DEM 6 Schweikert REP Malik DEM 7 Gallego DEM Swing GRN 8 Lesko REP Tipirneni DEM 9 Stanton DEM Ferrara REP 8 Statewide Races Constitutional Officers Office Leader Governor Ducey REP Garcia DEM Secretary of State Hobbs DEM Gaynor REP Attorney General Brnovich REP Contreras DEM State Treasurer Yee REP Manoil DEM Supt. of Public Instruction Hoffman DEM Riggs REP State Mine Inspector Hart REP Pierce DEM Corporation Commission Office Candidate Votes Seat 1 Kennedy DEM 1,076,799 Seat 2 Olson REP 1,053,861 Glassman REP 1,049,393 Sears DEM 1,006,654 9 Legislative Races State Senate Rep. 17 Dem. 13 Seat Leader 1 Fann REP Craycraft DEM 2 Dalessandro DEM Kais REP 3 Gonzales DEM UNCONTESTED 4 Otondo DEM UNCONTESTED 5 Borrelli REP Morgaine DEM 6 Allen REP Carlisle DEM 7 Peshlakai DEM Mealer REP 8 Pratt REP Girard DEM 9 Steele DEM Fleenor REP 10 Bradley DEM Wiles REP 11 Leach REP Atchue DEM 12 Farnsworth REP Brown DEM 13 Kerr REP Harris DEM 14 Gowan REP Alvarez DEM 15 Carter REP Dybvig-Pawelko DEM 16 FarnsworthREP Carmitchel DEM 17 Mesnard REP Weichert DEM 18 Bowie DEM Schmuck REP 10 Legislative Races State Senate Rep. 17 Dem. 13 Seat Leader 19 Chavira DEM UNCONTESTED 20 Boyer REP Ervin DEM 21 Gray REP Knecht IND 22 Livingston REP Garcia DEM 23 Ugenti-Rita REP Lohman DEM 24 Alston DEM Alger REP 25 Pace REP Mohr-Almeida DEM 26 Mendez DEM Speakman REP 27 Rios DEM UNCONTESTED 28 Brophy McGeeREP Marsh DEM 29 Quezada DEM UNCONTESTED 30 Navarrete DEM UNCONTESTED State House Rep. 31 Dem. 29 Seat Candidate Votes 1 Campbell REP 70,130 Stringer REP 67,023 Manolis DEM 32,706 11 Legislative Races State House Rep. 31 Dem. 29 Seat Candidate Votes 2 Hernandez DEM 30,613 Gabaldon DEM 30,481 Ackerley REP 21,927 3 Hernandez DEM 34,577 Cano DEM 31,482 Baker GRN 8,566 4 Fernandez DEM 26,541 Peten DEM 19,410 Williams GRN 8,334 5 Cobb REP 46,928 Biasciucci REP 39,260 McCord Robinson DEM 18,566 6 Blackman REP 45,210 Thorpe REP 44,314 French DEM 43,737 7 Tsosie DEM 34,739 Teller DEM 26,810 Shamley REP 22,677 12 Legislative Races State House Rep.